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Put nuclear deal on hold, says CPI

NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Tuesday said there was no change in the stand of the Left parties on the India-United States nuclear deal, and that differences remained between the United Progressive Alliance and the Left parties on the issue.

Referring to United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s statement in New York on Tuesday that “some time a great deal is made in [the] public domain of the opinion expressed by our friends, who support our coalition, but this should not alarm you,” CPI national secretary D. Raja said she was candid enough to admit the differences.

But he said that she had preferred to remain silent as to how such “differences” should be resolved.

Mr. Raja said the government should not take the next step to operationalise the deal, and it should be put on hold. “Unless the UPA government puts the deal on hold, there will be no possibility of reconciliation with the Left parties.”

The recent statements of some Ministers, ahead of the scheduled meeting on October 5 of the 15-member UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal, indicated that the government would go ahead with the nuclear deal, he said.

“If there are any India-specific negotiations at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UPA-Left committee will be rendered meaningless. The committee’s findings should be considered by the government,” Mr. Raja told The Hindu here.

He indicated that four Left parties could have informal discussions among themselves on Thursday, a day prior to the meeting of the UPA-Left committee.

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